From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lockheed Martin has been working closely with the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to identify ways to provide critical financial and operational support to the most vulnerable elements of the U.S. defense industrial base, including over 8,600 small business suppliers. To date, Lockheed Martin’s accelerated payments have gone to 7,578 unique suppliers, 4,584 small business suppliers across 50 states, DC, PR and in 37 countries overall.
In March, the DOD announced it would increase progress payment rates to large businesses from 80% to 90%, accelerating payments for the completion of work in recognition of the challenges posed by COVID-19. Thanks to the DOD’s leadership and foresight, Lockheed Martin has received more than $1.1 billion in accelerated payments and has flowed all of it down to suppliers.
In addition to these funds, in recent weeks, Lockheed Martin has accelerated cash to supply chain partners ranging from $300 million to $400 million per week.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has created health, economic, and national security challenges around the world. In this more volatile environment, it is more important than ever before to maintain the operations of the defense industrial base and support our men and women in uniform,” said Jim Taiclet, president and CEO of Lockheed Martin in a June 26 statement. “For the past several months, Lockheed Martin has worked with the Department of Defense to strengthen our supply chain.”
Lockheed Martin has been accelerating payments to small businesses 15 days faster than usual. The corporation also initiated a weekly process that evaluates where it can further accelerate the payment net day period.
To ensure suppliers have a head start on evaluating and leveraging resources, Lockheed Martin compiled a set of COVID-19 small business resources designed to help supply chain partners sustain cash flow and operations, during this unprecedented time. Additionally, the corporation instituted a series of webinars with direct guidance from the U.S. Small Business Administration. Some webinars were specifically designed to tackle the issues facing veteran-owned and women-owned small businesses.
Lockheed Martin also initiated webinars with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Army and NASA aiming to open the lines of communication from the supply chain directly to our customers. Through these initiatives, Lockheed Martin engaged and assisted thousands of vulnerable and small business suppliers. Positive feedback and sustained engagement indicate that these resources have been effective at helping small businesses during this time.
Lockheed Martin has 15,800 active suppliers including suppliers in every state. The corporation has more than 1,000 suppliers in over 64 countries outside of the United States.